Tropical
Highlights - October 2016

Sea surface
temperatures (SSTs) remained below-average over
the central and eastern equatorial Pacific during October 2016 (Fig. T18, Table T2). The latest monthly Niņo indices were -0.4°C for
the Niņo 3 region, -0.7°C for the Niņo 3.4 region, and -0.4°C for the Niņo 4 region (Table T2, Fig. T5). The depth of the oceanic thermocline
(measured by the depth of the 20°C isotherm) remained below-average across the
central and eastern equatorial Pacific (Figs. T15,
T16), and
the corresponding sub-surface temperatures were 1-3°C below average (Fig. T17).

Also during October, the lower-level
winds were near-average across the central and eastern equatorial Pacific and
enhanced over the western equatorial Pacific (Table T1, Fig. T20).
Meanwhile, convection was suppressed over the central equatorial Pacific and
enhanced over Indonesia (Figs. T25, E3).
Collectively, these oceanic and atmospheric anomalies reflect weak La Niņa
conditions.

For the latest status of the ENSO
cycle see the ENSO Diagnostic Discussion at:
http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/analysis_monitoring/enso_advisory/index.html